(Reuters)-The disinfecting wipes factory company’s chief growth officer told Reuters on Thursday that Clorox Co will be able to meet the frenetic demand for its disinfectants in the summer, and is expected to ship 2 million disinfection products every day.
“I used the 2 million mark to meet long-term demand, or at least the level of demand we have seen this fiscal year,” said Tony Matta, who joined the company in October.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have been hoarding various cleaning products frantically, resulting in shortages of Clorox disinfecting wipes and other items, despite the company’s efforts to increase production.
The company said it will launch a second dedicated wipes production line at its Atlanta production facility this quarter, after the company had to postpone the time frame to ease the nationwide shortage several times in the past year.
In May last year, Clorox stated that it would meet the demand for wipes by midsummer, but then told Reuters that this would take at least until 2021.
A few months later, on the post-earnings conference call in February, CFO Kevin Jacobson again revised the schedule to end 2021.
Although the company continues to produce wet wipes in its factories 24/7, the transportation barriers that plague the consumer packaging industry have hurt Clorox.
“Our transportation costs have increased significantly, but we are willing to bear these costs to improve the supply situation,” Mata said.
“In the summer, the supply situation that consumers would expect before the pandemic when they enter the store should be more normal.” (The title and first paragraph of this story are corrected to say that 2 million disinfection products are shipped every day instead of every day. Shipping 2 million cans of wet wipes)
Post time: Nov-11-2021